Windmasters Saga Part One
by Feuer Drache 99
Summary: On their way to Cahradras, the Fellowship discovers a young girl badly wounded in the woods. Much to the disapproval of Boromir and the others, Aragorn hesitantly decides to take her along, but they are about to discover her long-kept secret...
1. Prologue

Here's another LOTR story of mine. I don't do that many, cuz people don't seem to agree with me, it's not 'book-correct', as they say. Well, without further ado:  
On with the show!  
******  
  
Prologue  
~*~  
A young girl yelled and slashed her sword through another meaningless Orc, causing it to slump to the ground. She spun around, driving her blood splattered blade into the chest of an Orc. Yelling and fighting with few surviving others for an hour since the attack of Orcs on her city, the girl's hoarse breath rasped through dry lips. She coughed, blood dripping from a corner of her mouth, caused by the innumerable wounds her body had endured for the sake of her family and her city.   
She screamed suddenly and clutched her arm in pain, blood covering her hand from the fresh wound in her arm, caused by an Orc weapon that had just been slashed into it. Turning and quickly decapitating the creature, she searched for the other few survivors that were fighting off the invading Orcs elsewhere. She spotted another swordsman, also badly injured, and slowly made her way toward him. When she reached him, she laid a hand on his shoulder, for support and to get his attention.   
"Hey Nerai. How are you--" Her sentence was abruptly cut off by the sound of an Orc sword being driven through the chest of Nerai, the leader, captain, and friend of the last defense force of the city. His limp, lifeless body slowly fell to the ground, much to the abject horror of the girl, who quickly knelt down and tried to help him to the best of her ability. "No, no, no. Please don't die, Nerai. We need you. Don't die," she kept whispering repeatedly. Nerai coughed and turned his head to face the girl weakly.   
"I- I'm sorry, milady. I have failed thee." And with those parting words, Nerai passed away. The girl yelped as two strong hands gripped her arms from behind and dragged her away. "Nerai, Nerai!" she wailed. "No, no! Let me go! I will never give in!" She gripped her sword tighter and fought off the assailant Orc with the last of her remaining strength. After the creature was dead, the girl slowly dragged her tattered, beaten body into the forest with many a weakened struggle and loss of blood, until she finally collapsed. 


	2. Meeting the Fellowship

Chapter one: Meeting the Fellowship  
*******  
The girl slowly returned to consciousness. She felt the hard, rocky ground beneath her, and she tried to sit up and examine her surroundings, yet to no avail. Her arms felt like lead, and her head was throbbing. Her cheek was bleeding again from the gash it had received in battle, and her various wounds and scrapes stung. She forced her eyes open, but quickly shut them again when they were hit with a blinding light. She groaned again and finally sat up, after much struggling against her will, which apparently wanted to lie back down and fall back asleep on the soft blanket she was lying on. "Where am I?" she managed to whisper through dry and cracked lips.  
"Oh, hello, I see you are up," a friendly voice said. The girl turned to see who it was that spoke, and she saw a young man with bright blue eyes kneeling down beside her, holding a ceramic plate with food on it and a metal cup; a fire crackling behind him, strange figures sitting on logs for seats huddled to keep warm. "I brought you some breakfast. How are you feeling?" the boy asked.  
"Actually, quite well," she said, taking the plate and tin cup gladly and beginning to eat.   
"I'll be by the fire with the others if you need me."  
"Thank you," the girl murmured through a mouthful of food.   
After she was finished, she cleaned up her plate and set it aside.   
She got up and sat on a log opposite the hobbit boy that gave her the delicious food.   
The boy smiled.   
"My name's Frodo. Nice to meet you." He looked around and continued. "By the way, if you're wondering how you got here, we found you out in the woods on the outer edge of the forest when we were looking for more firewood. You were unconscious and bleeding badly so we brought you here and fixed you up a bit."   
A look of confusion and tenseness came into her eyes, and she asked cautiously, "Who's 'we'? And where's my sword?"  
"Oh, I put it over there," Frodo said, nodding to a pile of packs where her sword lay against the nearest one. The young girl nodded slightly, showing her hesitated approval.   
A strange man glared at her through dark eyes, and shook his head, looking at Frodo.   
"Why did you bring her here? She is just another burden for Gandalf and the rest of the Fellowship."   
"Yes, Aragorn is right," another voice chimed in, also a man. "She is just someone to be dragged along on our quest."   
"Yes, but look at her," a young voice piped up. The girl turned to the person who spoke, and she found that it was a teenager who looked to be the youngest of the group. "She's hurt, needs medicine, and if she stayed out there like that, she could be killed by Orcs." The girl shook her head at that comment. 'Yeah, like I need more Orcs trying to kill me.' She thought. The young boy turned to her. "What is your name?" the boy asked.   
The girl sighed and visibly hesitated, glancing nervously around at the others that looked at her with cold interest. "Malaika," she whispered sadly, knowing what secrets that name held. She sighed and said, "Who are these people?"  
"Oh, that's Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf, Legolas, Sam, Merry, of course you have already met Frodo, Gimli, and I'm Peregrin, but you may call me Pippin," he said, pointing out the various members of the group. She saw the two men she had heard earlier, and next to them sat an old man with a gray beard and a pointy hat. 'That must be Gandalf,' she thought. Legolas, an Elf with long blonde hair and a bow sat beside Gandalf, and Frodo sat beside him. Next to Pippin another boy sat, and Malaika recognized him as Merry that Pippin had introduced her to earlier. Sam was next to Merry, Gimli sat on his own log, and Malaika herself sat near Pippin, the only one she really felt comfortable around. She looked at Aragorn and said, "Where are you going after tonight's rest?"   
Aragorn sighed.   
"Well, we were going to go to through the Gap of Rohan, but that is being watched by Saruman. We are going up Caradhras in two days." Malaika nodded and looked up to the dark sky dotted with silver stars, thinking of the past events. "I'm tired. Are we going to sleep soon?" she asked, yawning.  
"Yes," Aragorn replied. "We are going to sleep right now. Alright, let us get rest for the long journey ahead."  
Gandalf nodded in agreement.   
"Boromir, keep first watch, then Aragorn, then Legolas, then I will watch. Malaika, you may use some extra blankets over there." He pointed to a roll of bedding, and the girl gladly took it and fixed a bed for herself. Malaika lay down, sighing, pulling the cloth up to her chin and closing her eyes.  
Images flashed through her mind, deep, dark, horrible. She clenched her jaw and squeezed her eyes shut tighter, trying not to think about the past.   
"Mother, mother! No, no, no.. No." She murmured, her gray eyes sparking with pain and agony underneath her eyelids. "Ahh, no, no... No, I have to! No, mother, don't leave!" she whispered in a pleading voice. Then she stopped her struggles of pain, and just lay in her bed quietly. "Mother," she sighed, and fell asleep. 


	3. Whispers in the Dark

Here's chapter two, I'm sorry it's so short.  
On with the show!  
  
Chapter Two: Whispers in the dark  
*******  
  
Malaika awoke to the sound of a fire blazing and the smell of food reaching her nose. She sat up and saw Gimli, Pippin, Sam, Frodo, and Merry sitting by the fireside cooking breakfast; Gandalf, Boromir, Legolas and Aragorn talking in hushed voices nearby. Malaika rose and sat down by Pippin, who offered her breakfast. She took it and ate gladly. After she was done, a mischievous glint sparked in her blue-gray eyes, causing Pippin to cock his head sideways in a gesture of confusion. Malaika shrugged it off and the glint disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. As soon as everyone had eaten, Gandalf said to be ready to travel. All the bags were packed, and the beds were rolled up and packed too. The group headed off on their day and a half travel to Caradhras. At about noon on the first day, the Fellowship stopped for a short lunch and continued on.   
They stopped at a wooded area at dusk and set out their beds. By the glow of the fading fire, Pippin, Merry, and Malaika talked quietly, as not to disturb the others, who were sleeping.   
Aragorn snored loudly, while Boromir stirred gently in his sleep. Pippin snickered. "They can be very bothersome when they are awake, but when they are sleeping, they can provide good amusement."  
Malaika nodded. "Yes, I know. My father was like that. I had to listen to him every night. It was funny. Sometimes my mother would wake and hit him on the head to be quiet." She suppressed her laughter with difficulty.   
Merry cocked his head to one side. "What do you mean, 'was'?"  
Malaika suddenly stopped laughing and lowered her eyes.   
"H-he... died. A long time ago."   
Merry bit his lower lip.   
"I am sorry. I didn't know he had died."   
"It's alright, Merry," she whispered.   
A sly grin spread across Pippin's face.   
"Looks like Merry is going to have a very good friend sometime soon," he snickered, pulling a silly face at Merry, making him crack a grin. Merry pulled an even sillier face back at Pippin, who clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from laughing out loud. Malaika caught the gestures, and made a face at Pippin. His grin showed between parted fingers, and he snorted softly. "Don't make me laugh," he struggled to say between bursts of suppressed laughter.   
"We will anyway," Merry whispered with a grin. Malaika made another goofy face, and Pippin couldn't take anymore. He burst out laughing, causing Merry and Malaika to laugh also. Suddenly Aragorn stirred and sat up, glaring at the hobbits and the girl who was short enough to be one.   
"What are you doing? You make enough noise to wake a cave-troll. Now go to sleep. Gandalf will know of this matter in the morning."  
Malaika shuddered at the mention of a cave-troll, and gulped.   
"We are definitely in trouble now."  
Pippin nodded. "Yes, but it was still fun."  
Merry grinned. "I don't know about you two, but I still want to stay awake."  
Malaika agreed, saying with a smile, "Me too. So, what do you want to talk about?"  
Merry shrugged, and Pippin said, "Tell us about yourself. You seem so secretive about your past."  
Malaika sighed. "I- I don't know what to say. Tell me about yourselves first," she challenged. Merry and Pippin looked at each other with a look of cluelessness in their eyes.   
Pippin yawned. "I'm tired," he whispered.   
Malaika nodded. "I am also, if only a bit."  
Merry looked at them strangely. "Alright. I will go to sleep, only if you two do so first."  
"You're on," Malaika challenged.   
With amazing speed, the three fell asleep, not knowing what lay ahead for the next day. 


	4. Counseling and Snowball Fights

Chapter three: Counseling and snowball fights  
*******  
  
The next day the Fellowship reached Caradharas, making their way slowly through knee-deep snow and blinding snowstorms. Malaika kept by Merry and Pippin, sometimes talking with Frodo, maybe Sam, but the younger hobbits were friendlier and laughed with her. The group reached a small peak with a ledge jutting out over the steep slopes of the mountain. It was a clear day, and Gandalf said they could rest for a while before trudging onward. Merry, Pippin and Malaika rolled around in the snow, throwing snowballs at each other and laughing. Aragorn, Boromir, Gandalf and Gimli sat nearby, counseling and whispering.   
"How will we get the girl home?" Aragorn asked.   
"Where does she live? We have to find that out before we can return her home," Boromir countered.   
Gandalf nodded.   
"She seems content with us in the daytime, yet at night..." Gandalf paused. "Her mind is troubled with memories of the dark past, and I could feel her unease when she first met us."  
"Yes. She looks to be hiding a secret, yet to what it is, I do not know." Aragorn cast a glance at Malaika, rolling in the snow, laughing, and shook his head in pity.   
  
Frodo and Sam stood by, talking of the situation.   
"The girl is strange, as if she is from another world," Sam said.  
Frodo nodded and said, "Yet the blood of Orcs was on her sword, which looked a bit like Elven crafting when I found it."   
Sam shrugged. "Well, Mr. Frodo, she seems to be fine now."  
Frodo nodded in agreement.  
  
Pippin yelped as a snowball whizzed past his head, nearly swiping his ear off. He glared playfully at Malaika, who had thrown it. While he was off his guard, another snowball thwapped him on the shoulder, courtesy of Merry, who was grinning like a maniac until a snowball hit him on the head. Malaika smiled and threw another at Pippin, who threw one at Merry, who hit Pippin back. Pippin threw a snowball at Merry, who threw another back. Malaika crossed her arms in a gesture of playful crossness and said, "What? Leaving me out of all the fun? How mean!"   
Pippin smiled and threw a snowball, hitting her square in the shoulder.   
"Oh, you want to play rough now, do you? Alright!"  
Pippin nodded. "Of course I do!" He gathered a pile of snow and packed it into a ball and prepared for an attack. Merry, who was watching the two, was caught off guard and a snowball hit him in the side of the face. He yelped and wiped the cold snow off his face, throwing a ball of snow back at Pippin. Malaika laughed.   
"I threw that, Merry!" she grinned.   
"You did?"  
Malaika nodded, the insane grin still plastered onto her face.  
"Yes, well take this!" Merry challenged, throwing a snowball at the girl, who ducked it easily. She stuck out her tongue at Merry, but a snowball hit her right in the face, causing her to flinch and wipe the snow off as quickly as possible. She glared at Pippin, who threw another one at her, but she ducked this time.   
"Is that the best you can do?" she snapped playfully, releasing another ball of snow and hitting her aimed target: Pippin's face. Merry laughed at his friend's expression until snow made contact with his shoulder, coming from Malaika's arsenal of snowballs, hidden by a wall of snow, her 'fortress'. Merry grinned and threw another snowball, hitting Malaika back, while she threw a ball at Pippin, who ducked behind his fortress to avoid getting hit in the face again. Malaika laughed.   
"Coward!" she yelled at Pippin. "Pippin's a coward, Pippin's a coward!" she chanted to Merry, who was laughing.   
"I didn't know Pippin would be frightened of a girl!" he laughed, receiving a snowball in the face for that comment.   
  
Aragorn shook his head, watching the three fight.   
"Gandalf, should we continue our trek, or stay ere the day is dark?"   
Gandalf cleared his throat.   
"Yes, we should go on. Gimli, get the others. We are leaving soon." 


	5. Moonlight

Here's chapter four!  
On with the show!  
  
Chapter Four: Moonlight  
  
*******  
  
The Fellowship prepared to continue up Caradharas. Merry and Pippin objected visibly to Gandalf's choice to keep going, but soon gave in under the influence of Aragorn. Gimli rambled on about how they should have gone to Moria, and Legolas just kept his mouth shut, preferring to think alone. They trudged through shin-deep snow, talking little, although Gandalf muttered strange words to himself sometimes. Boromir thought of the White City, Sam thought of going home, and Frodo thought of the Ring, how it affected him and the others, and destroying it.   
Merry, Pippin and Malaika stayed in the back whispering.   
Pippin imitated Gimli constantly.  
"'We should have gone through Moria. My cousin Balin would give us a royal welcome,'" he said in a deep gruff voice that copied Gimli's voice, only younger.  
Merry and Malaika laughed.   
"I've got one," Merry said. "I'm Boromir. 'Let's give Gondor the Ring! I'll become the new Dark Lord and rule the world!'"   
Malaika snickered. Although she hadn't heard of the One Ring, she still laughed.  
"Okay, I'm Sam: 'Alright Mr. Frodo. I'm hungry and I want to go home,'" she said in an almost perfect Sam imitation.   
The three friends laughed, and Aragorn turned to put a finger to his lips as a sign of silence.  
"Gandalf is thinking. Be quiet."  
The hobbits and Malaika obeyed and lowered their voices.   
Malaika shivered.   
"I'm cold," she whispered.  
Pippin nodded, and Merry shuddered.   
"Yes, me too. I wonder when we are going to rest. I hope it is soon," he murmured absently.  
"I'm hungry," Pippin whined.   
"You're always hungry," Merry said.   
Aragorn turned again to the three and said, "We will rest for now. Gandalf will decide where we are to go next."  
"Where will we stop?" Malaika asked. Aragorn pointed to an area, and said, "Nightfall is near. We will shelter there."  
Malaika nodded. Gandalf moved towards the small cave-like hole in the side of the mountain, and said, "Your choice is wise, Aragorn. We shall stay ere dawn breaks." The others nodded and started to unpack.   
Sam pulled out a frying pan.  
"Aragorn, do you think it's possible to make a fire?"  
Aragorn shook his head slightly.  
"It might, if you happen to have brought firewood."  
Sam's shoulders slumped.   
Pippin whined.  
"I'm hungry," he repeated.  
"Yes, we know that!" Merry snapped.  
Pippin shrunk away from his ill-tempered friend, and walked over to Malaika.   
"Hullo. How are you doing?"  
"I'm fine," she murmured, staring blankly into nothingness.  
Pippin shrugged and turned to empty his own pack in a suitable sleeping spot.   
  
Frodo looked at the fading sky, and thought how he did that when he was still in the Shire.   
'It's beautiful,' he thought with sadness. He turned to Sam and said,  
"Sam, I wonder if they ever have sunsets like these in Mordor." He shuddered at the very mention of its name, even by his own tongue, and stared at the sky again, sighing.   
"I doubt it, Mr. Frodo." Sam paused. "Are you hungry? I'll fix you something to eat if you'd like."  
Frodo shook his head.  
"No thanks, Sam. I'm not hungry."  
Sam nodded and turned to prepare a meal for the rest of the group and him.   
  
Gandalf walked over to Malaika and laid a hand on her thin shoulder.  
"I know what troubles you, child. Memories cause you distress at night."  
The girl turned her head to look at the old man and narrowed her gray eyes in suspicion.  
"How would you be aware of what haunts my mind? Do you search my thoughts for answers to questions you are afraid to ask? Who are you, being one to gaze through my own mentality?"  
Gandalf seemed to be surprised by this response, and sighed deeply.  
"No, I do not wish to know your mind, only why you are unsettled at night, when others are at peace."  
Malaika shrugged slightly and lowered her eyes in apology.  
"I am sorry. I did not mean to say such harsh things. I said them only in the misunderstanding of my situation."  
Gandalf nodded in acceptance of her apology.   
"Yes, many times young ones have done so, not being aware of their surroundings; of which you clearly are."  
Malaika exhaled softly, looking up at the darkness of night that surrounded her, broken only by the full moon, a pale disc of light in a black sky.   
"I will leave you to your thoughts now," the man said, turning back to the camp. The girl sighed again and turned to go to her bed.  
She lay down and closed her eyes, willing herself forcibly to fall asleep and not think about the past. The hated visions flashed through her mind once over, causing Malaika to yelp softly. She clenched her fists tightly, opened them, closed them again to relieve the pain of the memories.   
"No, no... No. I will... come."  
Malaika rose from her bed, walking through the group with hardly a whisper of sound. Her eyes misted, then glazed over. Her steps roused Pippin, who looked up and saw the girl moving toward the cliff edge by which they camped. His green eyes held a look of confusion and curiosity. Pippin rose and followed her, knowing what she might do if she didn't realize what she was doing.  
He caught up to her and grasped her arm, turning her around to face him.  
Pippin's eyes grew wide when he saw the empty, blank expression on the girl's pale face. She wrenched her arm from his grip, muttering something in an unknown language and turning toward the dangerously close precipice.  
Pippin grabbed both her arms and twisted her unwilling body to look at him again.  
"What are you doing!?" he snapped. The girl didn't reply, choosing instead to stare uncomprehendingly into space. Pippin shook her harder, desperately searching her blank gray eyes for any trace of life.  
"Malaika! Listen to me! Look at what you are doing! You could have been killed! Listen to me!"   
Malaika whined softly under his grip, squirming and wanting to be set free.  
"Malaika!" Pippin shook her shoulders again, saying her name over and over to get her attention.  
"You leave me no choice," he muttered to himself, and raised his hand, keeping a firm grip with his left hand on her arm.  
His palm came down and slapped her over the cheek, breaking the trance-like spell that had been placed over her mind by some indefinite enemy.   
Her eyes were wide as she looked around.  
"What happened?"  
Pippin was shocked.  
"You mean to say that you didn't know what you just tried to do?"  
Malaika shook her head.  
"You tried to walk off the cliff!"  
She didn't reply. Pippin shook his head, saying, "You don't remember, do you?"  
Malaika bit her lower lip without speaking. "Gandalf must know about this, Malaika. Now go to bed, we'll most likely keep hiking tomorrow. Good-night."  
He turned and walked to his bed, kneeling and curling up in the blankets, closing his eyes.  
Malaika sighed and did the same. Tomorrow was another day. 


	6. Secrets of the Wind

Here's the fifth chapter, I hope you liked the last one!  
On with the show!  
  
Chapter Five: Secrets of the wind  
*******  
The next morning the Fellowship trudged higher up Caradharas. The hobbits and Malaika stayed in the center of the group, Aragorn and Gandalf led, while Boromir, Legolas and Gimli stayed in the back.   
Pippin moved over toward Malaika and asked,  
"Malaika? Are you alright?"  
She mumbled something inaudible, then said,   
"Oh, yes, I'm fine Pippin," she said, "just a little tired."   
His green eyes holding concern for the young girl, Pippin turned back to his conversation with Merry.   
Pain flashed momentarily through the girl's eyes, and she moved up to Gandalf.  
"Gandalf, I have a headache. May we rest for a bit?"  
The old wizard nodded and glanced to the horizon.  
"Yes, we may rest for the moment. It is about lunchtime."  
Malaika smiled wearily and sat down on a nearby rock, cradling her throbbing head.  
Aragorn sighed and turned to Gandalf.  
"She cannot stay with us much longer. Our meal and drink are running low, and she is just another nuisance to the Fellowship." Gandalf shook his head.  
"Nay, Aragorn. I believe she has some part to play, yet for good or ill, I do not know."   
Malaika sighed and looked around. 'I wonder when we will rest for the night,' she thought.  
She smiled to herself and shook her head slightly. 'Not for a while.'  
The company rose and headed off again under a blank, dreary sky.   
  
Merry and Pippin, along with Malaika, were whispering conversations with each other out of earshot of the others, minus Legolas.   
"I'm hungry, Merry," Pippin whispered to his friend.  
Malaika smiled.  
"You just ate, Pippin. How could you be hungry?" Pippin shrugged and they laughed.  
Suddenly Malaika stopped and stood ramrod straight, cocking her head to one side, as if listening.   
"What are you listening for, Malaika?" Pippin asked, but the girl didn't reply.  
The wind murmured and whistled about them, gently tossing Malaika's pallid golden hair about her shoulders. She closed her eyes, sighing.  
"The wind whispers hidden secrets for only some to hear," she breathed.  
"What does it say?" Merry inquired.  
"It tells of ancient things, wild and free, helpless and caged." All of a sudden Malaika moaned and wrapped her arms around herself, clutching tightly at her shoulder blades. Her bruised knees sank down to the soft snow beneath her, cushioning the rest of her shivering body to lie atop the snow.   
"Malaika, are you alright?" Pippin asked. He turned to Aragorn, who was a little ways ahead, and said, "Aragorn, Malaika's hurt!" Aragorn came over and knelt beside the quivering girl, saying to Pippin,   
"What happened?"   
"I don't know," he replied, "she just fell down. I think something's wrong with her shoulder blades." He reached out to touch them and the moment his fingers brushed her back, Malaika jerked away from his touch.  
'I hope she's going to be alright,' Pippin thought with an inward sigh.  
The girl stirred and murmured words with no meaning to the others; then her speech became intelligible.   
"No, no, I cannot, cannot..."  
"Cannot what?" Merry asked. Malaika didn't answer, instead choosing to continue with her inane babble.  
"I cannot, cannot reveal..."  
"Cannot reveal what?"  
"Secret. . ."   
Then she promptly passed out. 


	7. Haunted Words of Song

The words to the song are by ZOEgirl, all rights reserved.  
Well, on with the show!  
  
Chapter Six: Haunted words of song  
********  
  
Malaika slowly came back into consciousness. She sat up and looked around, seeing that it was close to about five o'clock in the afternoon.   
"What happened?" she mumbled.   
"You passed out," a voice said, the person shadowed by the light of a small fire.  
"Aragorn? Is that you?"  
The figure nodded and said, "Yes. Here is a little food for you, but we are running low. Legolas, Boromir and Gimli are looking for some type of plant to bring back to us for a bit more food, and the hobbits are over there." He pointed to a spot by the fire where the four hobbits sat talking. Malaika nodded.   
"Where's Gandalf?"   
"I don't know."  
The girl sighed. She got up and walked over to the hobbits, sitting next to Pippin. "Hello Pippin," she said with a smile.  
"Hello Malaika. How are you?"  
"Good."  
Pippin nodded and smiled, turning to the others and resuming their conversation, now seeming to ignore the girl who sat next to him.  
Malaika rose and took a short walk around the campsite, admiring the beauty and hidden danger of the mountain. She yawned, realizing how tired she really was.   
Turning back to the campsite sleepily, she tripped on a stone and fell, scraping her left shoulder blade on an extending rock and screaming in pain. The hobbits rushed to her aid, all of them asking repeatedly what had happened. All the girl could do was whimper from the sharp sting in her left shoulder blade, suspecting what had happened. She reached up and gingerly felt the small throbbing triangle shaped protrusion on her shoulder blade. She had another one on her other shoulder, and she knew full well what they were.   
'I can't keep it a secret much longer,' she thought with a twinge of misery. Malaika pulled back her fingers and gasped at what covered them. Blood. 'Oh no,' she thought with horror, 'what happened? I must have hit something hard when I fell.'  
Pippin noticed the crimson liquid covering her shoulder also, and reached to touch it, unbeknownst to the girl. His fingers stroked the diminutive protrusion gently, making a bit of the cloth shirt that had been torn upon impact to shift, revealing the bloodied skin and that the small triangle on the left side of her back was covered with a thin layer of skin. He accidentally touched the gash, causing Malaika to yelp and turn her head to look at the young man, narrowing her eyes and whispering, "Why did you touch my wound, Pippin? I can take care of myself. I don't need your help to give me more pain than what I already have." With that the girl got up, slowly making her way toward the others. She flopped down on her bedding, taking special care to avoid her wound, ignoring the others who sat around the fire staring at her.   
  
Malaika's eyes slowly fluttered open to a dark world around her. She sat up and saw that the fire was out, Aragorn and the rest of the Fellowship were asleep, and that there was a pale sliver of moon in the sky.   
She got up and walked over to the nearby hill and sat down at the top, sighing.   
"I remember when me and Mother used to do this," she whispered sadly. Then she thought of her journey here, and began murmuring words to a song that she had thought of.   
  
"I led a lonesome journey   
  
Full of disdain and fury  
  
I kept my anger yearning   
  
Close to me like fire burning  
  
I watched a million chances   
  
Slip through my weathered hands  
  
I almost lost myself   
  
When I looked around there was no one else  
  
I followed habits around and swept up above the clouds  
  
But fallen down left shaken   
  
Abandoned by the pills I've taken  
  
I could have kept on going  
  
With no one ever knowing  
  
Who really wants to see a tired nobody like me?"  
"I do," came a voice from behind. Malaika spun around and saw a dark figure standing at the base of the hill, looking at her.   
"Who are you?" she snapped, not realizing who it was in the dim moonlight.   
"It's me, Malaika," a soft voice answered.  
"Pippin? What are you doing here?"  
Pippin didn't answer, instead asking another question.  
"Did you really go through that?"  
Malaika's eyes widened, realizing that he had listened to her song, and then lowered in memory.  
"Yes, I did."  
"Why are you up?"  
"I- I- couldn't sleep."  
"Oh, okay," Pippin said, turning to go back to bed. "I thought your song was really beautiful, nothing like the songs of the Elves, in an odd way."  
Malaika smiled.   
"Malaika, I was just wondering, what are those, those... things... on your shoulder blades?"  
The girl gasped, the smile vanishing off her face like the wind.   
'He really has seen them then,' she thought.   
'I can't tell him, not now.'  
'But now's the perfect time,' her mind argued.  
'No it's not. He can't know.'  
'Yes he can, he'll probably find out anyway, Malaika.'  
She sighed. 'All right, fine, but I won't tell him now, not when others could be listening.'  
'What about the others? What will they think when Pippin tells them?'  
'I- I- don't know.'  
"Malaika?" Pippin asked, interrupting the argument in the girl's mind with herself.  
"Y- yes, Pippin? Did you say something?"   
"Yes, I ask you a question. What are those things on your shoulder blades?"   
Malaika gulped hard.  
"I can't tell you, not right now, perhaps later."   
"Alright. Good-night Malaika," Pippin whispered, turning back to the camp and lying down in his bed, closing his eyes.  
"Good-night, Pippin. I'll tell you someday," the girl murmured. 


	8. Betraying Trust

Chapter Seven: Betraying Trust  
*******  
  
Morning and noon came as well as went for the small group of people on the mountain. Aragorn led the way, followed by Gandalf and the others. Malaika fell behind, trudging weakly through the snow.   
"G- G- Gandalf," she stuttered through cold lips, "could we r-rest for a bit? I'm e-exhausted."   
Gandalf sighed.  
"Yes, we may rest for a little while."  
"T-thank you," the girl murmured as she sat down on a nearby boulder.   
Aragorn moved toward Gandalf and whispered,  
"What shall we do about the girl? She is constantly slowing down our trek, and we need to return her home soon."  
Malaika heard this and snapped her head up, looking at Aragorn with fear in her eyes.  
"No, no. Please don't take me home; I don't want to go back. No, I will never want to go back. Never, not even for all the riches in the world would I want to go."  
Aragorn looked at the thin, pale, shivering girl and asked,  
"Why?"  
"B- because... I just d- don't."  
"Why?" Aragorn persisted.   
"Because!" Malaika snapped. "Some things happened there a long time ago, and I do not wish to remember them."  
Aragorn sighed.  
"But we need to return you home. We cannot let you come with us on our quest."  
This time it was Malaika's turn to ask,  
"Why? Is this quest so important that you cannot have just one more person?"  
"Yes it is, Malaika. Just tell me where you live, that is the only answer I ask of you."   
"Fine," Malaika sighed, "I'll tell you: I live in RhovŠnion."  
Aragorn was confused for a moment.  
"But that is only an area," he said. "How could you live there?"  
"I told you once, Aragorn. I live in RhovŠnion."   
Aragorn sighed in frustration and turned away. Gandalf walked up to the young girl and bent down to her level; saying in a soft voice, as if talking to a small child,  
"Where do you live, Malaika? We know you live in RhovŠnion, but where in that area?"  
Malaika closed her eyes, as if holding back tears, whispering,  
"One hint I will give: Near Erebor."   
"Erebor? That is an uninhabited mountain. Why do you live there?"  
"I said near Erebor, Gandalf, not on it," Malaika snapped in frustration. "Why must you ask so many questions about my past? It is of something I wish not to tell!" The wizard nodded in understanding, despite her harsh words.   
"Alright then. I will not press you to say anything about your hidden past, but you will have to tell me soon." Gandalf rose and walked toward the others, leaving the girl to her thoughts.  
Malaika sighed shakily, blinking back tears.  
'You don't know how right you are, Gandalf,' she thought, 'you don't know how right you are.'  
  
An hour and a half later the group stopped again after an hour's walk through the snow. Malaika and the hobbits sat down gratefully.   
"I'm tired," Pippin whispered.  
Merry nodded and Malaika sighed, slumping her shoulders.  
"What's wrong, Malaika?" Pippin asked, sensing her misery.   
"N- nothing, Pippin. I just realized that the reason that everyone is asking me about my past is because of my actions and behavior."  
"Why do you think that?"  
"Because I've been acting odd lately, and people question my sanity."   
"Okay," Pippin said, "do you want to go talk about it?"  
Malaika shrugged in an 'I don't really care' gesture. The two rose and walked over to an old, rotten log steeply sloping to drop off into a sharp cliff edge. "You seem wounded, Malaika."  
The girl shrugged listlessly.   
"So what if I am, Pippin. No one cares."  
"I do." He paused, realized something, and continued. "Malaika, your shoulder blades seem larger since yesterday." Malaika nodded, and whispered,  
"They are." She sighed, and spoke again. "I need some fresh air. Stay here, I'll be back in a bit." She stood up, stretched, took a step toward the cliff edge, and slipped.  
"Pippin, help me!" Malaika screamed as she slid down off the overhang. Her hands barely grasped the sharp edge, catching herself.   
"Hold on, Malaika!" Pippin yelled, running to the girl's aid.  
"I can't! Pippin, I'm going to fall, I can't hold on much longer."  
The young hobbit clutched her wrists, averting her fall for just a little bit longer. The girl's feet scrabbled desperately at the rock face for any small hold. "Pippin! Hold on tighter!"  
"I- I can't! You're too heavy!" The girl yelped as Pippin's grip loosened and she slipped.   
Pippin gasped. With a scream, Malaika fell.   
  
********  
Mwahahahahahaa!! You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out what happens!!! I'll have to get at least 10 reviews before I continue. But I'll give you a hint: You'll be surprised when the next chapter comes out!!!!  
Bye!  
Karita-chan 


	9. Surprising Discovery

Chapter Eight: Surprising Discovery  
*******  
  
Malaika silently wished she would not die. As she fell to her certain death, her lips formed words in her own language without her meaning to. She whispered the chant repeatedly,  
"Dun baltin anuri stil, ans pur il sistul nis tinsil binturai un sunis anuri kintulari. Murin wint fuil, turistar wint stiluin anuri ans wint disan hunil asguin thu futin purnurai uf se Ilintin."  
Suddenly a white light enveloped her body and shearing pain ripped through her shoulder blades. Malaika screamed in anguish, clenching her fists and closing her eyes tightly, as if to lessen the pain. After a few seconds, the stinging numbed, and Malaika cracked one eye open. Much to her surprise, she didn't seem to be falling with as much swiftness. She opened her eyes fully and looked up; the cliff edge didn't seem more than fifty feet away and counting. She turned her head slowly, as if she knew what she would see and didn't want to. She reached out a hand and felt the one thing she hated to feel. Malaika whimpered. 'Oh no,' she thought, 'what will the others think?'  
  
Pippin knelt on his hands and knees staring down in numbed shock. Malaika was gone, and it was his fault. Tears formed in his eyes and soon they were rolling freely down his cheeks.   
"M- Malaika... I'm sorry I didn't hold on longer."   
Teardrops stained the newly marred snow. Shaking them away, Pippin got up and ran to Aragorn, who was getting ready to pack up and head off again. The young hobbit shook his shoulders, yelling frantically, "Aragorn, Aragorn! Malaika fell off the cliff, and she's going to die! Help her!"   
Aragorn sighed.  
"You know I can't help the girl, Pippin. Do not bother me right now."   
The Ranger waved him away. Pippin sighed in frustration and sulkily plodded back to the place where Malaika fell. Much to his amazement and shock there was a hand slowly creeping over the lip of the precipice. He rushed over and grabbed it, pulling up whomever it was that had fallen. Malaika's face peeked over and she smiled at the amazed hobbit that had helped her.   
Pippin helped Malaika up over the edge and gasped at what he saw. Malaika knelt on all fours, breathing heavily. Her brown cloth shirt and dirt-covered tan jacket were ripped the full length of her back, and two beautiful white wings jutted gracefully from her shoulder blades. A deep gash ran across her shoulder, and another one across her brow. Her hands were covered with blood, and the tips of her wings were stained crimson from when they ripped the skin upon emerging. Drops of scarlet dotted the snow.  
"Malaika," Pippin breathed, hardly able to out of amazement at the transformed girl before him, "you look awful. I'm going to go get Aragorn; he'll know what to do." Malaika nodded weakly and the hobbit ran off to get the ranger.   
"Oh no...What have I done?" The girl whispered to herself. "I have betrayed my mother's trust by revealing my secret..." She closed her eyes and shook her head as shining silver tears rolled down her pale cheeks. "I cannot stay here any longer, I must leave before the others discover my painful secret." Spreading her newly opened wings, she sighed as she silently flew up to a distant ledge where no one would find her in her misery. 


	10. Secrets in the Haze

Chapter Nine: Secrets in the Haze   
*******  
  
Pippin raced back to Aragorn as fast as he could. As soon as he got to him he started yelling,  
"Aragorn, Aragorn! Malaika's alive! She's alive! When she was falling, she grew wings and flew back up! She is hurt badly though, so she needs your help, fast!"  
The ranger sighed in a frustrated tone and turned to Pippin, saying flatly,   
"Pippin, you told me only five minutes ago that Malaika had fallen off the cliff and that she was going to die. Why do you think I would believe that she grew wings and flew back up here?"   
Pippin suddenly had a defeated look in his eyes, and whispered,   
"Please, Aragorn, please? You have to come help her, she's got two bad gashes and she is bleeding badly."   
Aragorn sighed, beaten, and rose to inspect the girl's wounds, if there were any. They reached the spot where Pippin said Malaika had been when he went to get help.   
Nothing lay there now but indents in the snow. Pippin's eyes grew wide as he searched for Malaika, or any trace that she had been there. A small object caught his eye, and he stooped to pick it up. Between Pippin's fingers was a shiny, soft, white feather. He showed it to the disbelieving Aragorn, saying,  
"Look, Aragorn. Malaika's wings were white, as white as the snow."   
"I still have yet to see her for myself. When that happens, then I will believe you." Aragorn turned and walked back to the camp.  
Pippin sighed. He looked up and saw a brief bit of white disappear near the high ledge above him. 'I bet Malaika's up there,' he thought. 'I just need a way to get her to come down.' Suddenly Pippin came up with an idea and he cupped his hands around his mouth.   
  
The girl wrapped her wings around herself as she alighted atop the snow. Sighing shakily, she whispered to no one in particular,  
"I can't tell them. No, I can't, I cannot let them know." She jerked her head up when she heard voices speaking below. Malaika's gray eyes peered over the edge, scanning the conversation below between Pippin and Aragorn.   
"Look, Aragorn. Malaika's wings were white, as white as the snow."  
"I still have yet to se her for myself. When that happens, then I will believe you." She watched Aragorn walk away, and Pippin sigh, then look up. Malaika quickly slipped out of view. She heard him call,  
"Malaika, please come down. I need to tell you something." The girl sighed and looked over the edge at the hobbit who stood there, waiting. She folded her wings as close to her back as possible and snapped hotly,  
"What do you want, Pippin? You already know my secret, and you were just trying to tell Aragorn. I do not wish for everyone else to know it."   
Pippin's shoulders slumped and he said quietly,   
"Alright, I'm sorry. I just wanted to know why you had wings. But, knowing you, you most likely won't tell me."   
Malaika smirked and said mockingly,  
"My, do you know me well."  
"Oh, that reminds me. I found this in the snow near where you fell, and I was wondering if it was yours."   
Pippin reached into his pocket and drew out a shining object. Malaika gasped and scowled.   
"That's mine!" she snapped, springing from the ledge and landing gracefully in front of Pippin. Malaika snatched the item from the boy's hand, and clutched it protectively to her chest. "This is mine, and you will never be allowed to touch it." She gently held it in her cupped hands as if it were as precious as a child.   
"What is it?" Pippin asked.  
Malaika had a hesitant look in her stormy eyes, and she slowly held it up on its chain.  
"This." 


	11. Decisions

Chapter Ten: Decisions  
********  
  
The object that Malaika held in her upraised hand was a silver medallion with blue, gray and green gems encircling it. In the center was a red diamond-shaped jewel with a beady black-as-obsidian stone in the center. Around the four points of the diamond were different runes of some kind. On the north-facing point was what looked like a shining globe at the top; the east-facing point had a right wing; the left on the west facing point. Finally the south had a gold eight-pointed star.   
"Wow," Pippin said. "Where did you get it?"  
The girl lowered her head and whispered,   
"Someone gave it to me."  
"Who?"  
"Someone... Maybe I will tell you later." Malaika's eyes flashed quickly upward and noticed Pippin was gazing at something over her shoulder with a mixture of curiosity and awe. She raised her head and sighed, wondering what he was looking at. She followed his gaze with her eyes and realized he was staring at her wings; the tips still caked with dried blood. "Pippin," she said softly, getting the hobbit's attention. "You seem to fancy something. What is it?" Pippin looked at her, tentatively lifting a hand towards her wing.   
"M-May I t-touch i-it?" He stammered nervously.   
Malaika's eyes widened a bit; she had never been asked this question before.   
"I, eh... alright, you may." Pippin cautiously reached out and gently stroked the soft feathers, sending an unnerving chill down Malaika's spine.  
'Eerie,' she thought as the boy's fingers brushed her wing. 'It's like something... unnatural.' Suddenly a voice called out from around the corner where the rest of the group was staying.  
"Malaika, Pippin, where are you? Gandalf says we are going to be leaving soon!"  
The girl immediately recognized it as Merry's voice and Pippin instantly jerked his hand away.   
"Malaika, stay here," he whispered urgently, "Unless you want Merry to see your wings." The girl shook her head sternly, fear in her hurricane gray eyes. Pippin swiftly walked back to the camp and Malaika could hear him talking to Merry. Several minutes passed until Pippin came back. "Malaika," he said, "I just told Merry-"  
"You what?!" Malaika hissed fiercely, anger flashing through her eyes. "Did you tell Merry? I said no one should know about this!"  
Pippin sighed.  
"I didn't tell Merry about your wings, Malaika, so calm down. I just said for him to tell Gandalf that I will be coming in a little bit."   
"What about me?" she asked nervously, her meek tone so different from the harsh girl he had heard earlier.   
Pippin shook his head and looked into her eyes, stormy gray meeting sea green.  
"I don't know."  
Malaika shivered. Those three words... they haunted her. So many times in the past had people said that, and she knew they had the power to do something, but they didn't. She leaned her back carefully against the ledge face, taking note of her delicate, newly opened wings, and sat atop the snow. Covering her face with her hands, Pippin could hear her whisper,  
"What am I going to do? Oh why... Why me? I didn't ask for this, Mother..."  
Malaika's shoulders were shaking faintly, and Pippin could hear mute sobs. He knew she was crying. Crying for all that had happened. Suddenly, Pippin realized he felt sorry for Malaika. 


	12. Going Home

Chapter Eleven: Going Home  
*******  
  
Pippin looked at Malaika pitifully and wondered,  
'You're right... what are we going to do with you, Malaika?' He laid a hand on her shaking shoulder, and she looked up at Pippin. Tears ran down her face, and her eyes were red. Dirt smears covered her cheeks and forehead, and her gash had scabbed up a little.   
"Malaika..." He whispered, getting her attention, "Can you please show Aragorn? He'll fix your cuts and clean you up a bit, at least." The girl shook her head mutely. Pippin sighed, turning and taking his hand off Malaika's shoulder. 'Now what am I going to do? Tell Gandalf? No... that won't work... I guess I'll have to tell her, then. But she won't like it, I know.'   
"Malaika," he said, waiting for an answer from the girl.  
"Y- yes?"  
"You're going to have to go home." He knew this would hurt her, and he knew she would not do it for anything; she had said so herself. But it was the only way.  
He turned to see her reaction, and was surprised. Malaika's eyes were filled with abject horror, and fear could be clearly seen in her features. She shook her head slightly, shocked that Pippin, the one she least expected it to be coming from, had said the seven words she had never wanted to hear since she had met the Fellowship almost a week ago.   
Malaika stood up and glowered at the hobbit, staring him straight in the eyes. Pippin's eyes had a determined look in them, and he glared straight back. Malaika inwardly faltered, she hadn't expected Pippin to be one to challenge. She curled her upper lip into a snarl, and snapped,  
"I don't want to go home, and you can't make me, Pippin." With that remark, she turned and sulked by herself in a corner away from where the Fellowship was, but still far enough away from Pippin to satisfy her.  
"All right," he said, low enough to say to himself, but just so Malaika could hear, "I'll go tell Aragorn and Gandalf that we will be taking you along with us, until we decide to get rid of you, which we have tried to do already, and failed. And then we'll all be happy without you, won't we?" He turned and walked back to camp, leaving Malaika to sulk by herself.   
As soon as Pippin reached the clearing, Merry ran up to him.   
"What happened, Pippin? Is Malaika alright?"   
The younger hobbit nodded.   
"Yes, she's fine. She's over there," he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder in a gesture of where the girl was. He was still mad about the argument with Malaika, and worrying more about getting back home again than what she had said only moments earlier. He didn't remember that she didn't want anyone but Pippin to see her wings, and the thought totally slipped his mind. Merry walked over to Malaika's hiding spot, and luckily Malaika's back was turned, so she didn't see him. The young hobbit gasped almost inaudibly.   
'Wings?' Merry crept up to the girl, and he could hear her murmuring odd phrases.  
"Nera merane, Mother... I wonder if Markei... no, I can't think of that now. No, never. Stupid Pippin, he said that I have to go home. I don't want to, never. I'll just stay here forever. Besides," she paused, "I like the snow."   
Merry stepped closer.  
"Malaika?"   
Malaika whipped around, fear in her eyes. Her left wing hit the rock face, and it hurt, but her thoughts too preoccupied with Merry to care.   
"Merry?!" She folded her wings as flat against her back as she could, as she had done when she was on the ledge talking to Pippin earlier. "What are you doing here?" Her voice sounded different to Merry. 'Cold, almost,' he thought. Not like the happy, joyful girl he had seen. No, she was much different.  
"I... I wanted to see what had happened. Pippin told me you were over here, so I came to ask you." He hesitated, and Malaika feared what he would ask next. "Malaika... Why do you have wings?"   
The girl visibly faltered.  
"I... I can't tell you, Merry."   
"Why?"  
Malaika sighed.  
"I just can't."   
Merry looked rather defeated.  
"Oh, alright. I suppose I'll just go back to the camp and tell them where you are, then." Merry turned and started to walk back to the camp around the curve of the rock face and Malaika gasped.  
"Merry, no!" She yelled, but the hobbit seemed to ignore her. "Merry!" she yelled again, this time louder, but he was already around the bend. Malaika leapt to her feet and ran to the edge of the rock surface, careful to only show her face. "Merry?" she whispered to herself. He was at the clearing talking to Aragorn. Malaika, with her sharp hearing, could catch pieces of the conversation.  
"Aragorn, she is hurt badly."  
Malaika heard a sigh from Aragorn.  
"Yes, but I need to see her for myself to fix her wounds."  
"I know, but..."  
"No. She needs to come here."   
"You can go to her. She's over-" Merry started to say, with his finger pointing in Malaika's direction, but the girl interrupted.   
"Merry, no!" Malaika yelled, and, without thinking, stepped into the clearing. Aragorn and the hobbit looked at her, along with Pippin, and Legolas, who had heard with his Elven ears. With a sharp intake of breath, Malaika realized what she had done. Biting her lower lip, she immediately turned and thumped her back against the rock, hiding herself from the gaze of the Fellowship. 'Oh no, what have I done to get myself into this mess?' She thought with a groan. "Now almost the entire Fellowship knows! Including Aragorn!" she said to herself. "How could I be so ignorant of the one thing I didn't want for everyone else to know about?" She then saw Pippin turn the corner she was hiding behind.   
"Malaika?"  
The girl sighed.  
"Oh Pippin, I didn't mean to. Now everyone knows, and it's all my fault!" She whimpered, turning to look at him miserably. The young hobbit shook his head.  
"No, it's my fault, Malaika. I told Merry where you were, and he told Aragorn that you were hurt, which I already did, and he didn't believe either of us. Now he knows you really are hurt, and he needs to clean your wounds. Will you let him, Malaika?" She hesitated, closing her eyes; brow creased in concentration. After a moment, she opened her eyes.   
"Will I have to go home after this, Pippin?"   
Pippin shook his head.  
"No, not until you wish to. Now, will you let Aragorn clean you up?" Malaika nodded slowly. "Good, I'll go tell him to come over here; and I will go set out my bed, as it seems to be getting dark."  
"Goodnight, Pippin," Malaika whispered, and the hobbit nodded in reply. He left, and a few moments later, Aragorn walked up to Malaika, looking at her various cuts, bruises, and Orc-blood spatters on her clothing.   
"My, my, Malaika, you're a mess," he said, crouching down until he was eye-level with her. Drawing a cloth out from a pouch and a glass bottle filled with water from another pocket, he lightly soaked the material and began dabbing around Malaika's gash on her forehead. The girl winced, but she let him continue. Still dabbing at the wound, he looked at her wings. He said rather bluntly, "I take it you are not one of our kind, or even a human at all." Malaika lowered her eyes from his piercing ones.   
"No, but not in the ways you would expect."   
Aragorn finished cleaning her deep cut, and took out a swathe of white cloth, carefully wrapping it around the right side of her head, where the wound was. He then moved to the gash on her left shoulder, and began to clean that up also. After binding her shoulder, he stood up.   
"We are going back down the mountain tomorrow. Will you be wanting to leave on your own soon?"  
The girl nodded.   
"Yes, I have all the necessary provisions for my journey."   
Aragorn shook his head.  
"Malaika, you came with nothing but your sword, will you leave with nothing?"   
"Nay, son of Arathorn," the Ranger looked incredulous at this, "I brought enough supplies for my passage."   
"Are you sure about your choice, Malaika? There is a town not far from this mountain that may possibly have all the equipment and goods you could need."  
"Yes, I will be alright. Thank you, Aragorn." He nodded.   
"I will be with the others, if you should need me again," Aragorn said, turning and striding back to the group.   
Pippin came back with Malaika's bed roll, and said,  
"Here's your bedding, Malaika, just in case you would like to stay over here for the night instead of going over where the Fellowship is, but we're going to have a fire, if you change your mind." Silence ensued, and after a moment, Pippin sighed. "I'm sorry about what I said earlier, Malaika."  
The girl was silent.  
"I'm going home tomorrow, Pippin."   
"You are?"   
Malaika nodded.   
"But I am afraid of what I will find there."  
"What do you mean?"  
Malaika seemed hesitant.  
"Three years ago," she began, but paused, then continued. "I was forced to flee from my home by men who invaded our land, hoping to take over. The act started a war, and my father led the first resistance force against them. He died in battle."  
Pippin lowered his head.  
"I'm sorry."  
Malaika shook her head.  
"No, don't be, Pippin. My mother... she forced me to run away, and my older sister went into hiding."  
"Did the men win?"  
"I don't know, but they most likely did."  
Pippin was hushed, but then he spoke after a moment, as if he had been thinking.  
"You're a broken girl, Malaika."   
The girl looked up at him in surprise.  
"What makes you say that?"  
The hobbit shrugged.   
"I don't know, it's just... everything that has happened since you got here. You talking about your mother, trying to walk off the cliff, your being stubborn with Aragorn, your song, and... your wings."   
Malaika nodded once.  
"Anyone would say that, after seeing the events of my past," she whispered solemnly.   
"Yes, I believe they would."  
The girl proceeded to unroll and lay out her bedding, and Pippin exhaled softly. "I really... I don't want you to leave, Malaika."   
She looked up at him from what she was doing.  
"Why? I'm not needed here, and I'm 'just another burden for the Fellowship', as Boromir so aptly put it." Pippin was silent. After a moment, he looked at Malaika and strolled back to the Fellowship without a word, hanging his head.   
Malaika curled up in her bedding, carefully avoiding her wings and sore spots, and sighed, closing her eyes.   
Tomorrow was the beginning of everything she had ever dreamed of.   
  
********  
Well, how did you like this really long chapter? Please review and tell me, or else you won't get more of this story! Did you like the little bit of conflict between Pippin and Malaika? Their ideas aren't exactly the same there, huh?  
Well, at LEAST 3 or 4 more reviews form you wonderful people, and I'll update!  
Ja!  
Karita-chan 


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